Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

Chapter 5

Kori woke up the next morning to find her husband in the kitchen, on his phone speaking to his adoptive father. "Okay, Bruce, I'll wait for the Logans to show up and then I'll drop off the kids at your place shortly." He listened for a moment, "Yes, yes, I'm sure she would love a new doll for her next birthday, which is a long time away, mind you."

Kori waited patiently for Richard to hang up as he told Bruce not to spoil his only granddaughter too much. "I don't want a brat on my hands, Bruce."

At this, his wife rolled his eyes and thought, "Yeah, not like you don't spoil her enough already."

Richard closed his phone and threw it on the counter beside her and directed his attention to the child growing inside her, "Seven months down, two to go little guy." His voice was oddly high-pitched and he was rubbing his nose against her stomach. Kori giggled not only because he was being a goofball, but because it really tickled.

"You heard news, did you not? That is why you are taking Mari and the boys to Bruce's, correct?"

Bruce moved the headquarters for Wayne Enterprises over to Jump City when he found out that he was going to be a kinda-sorta grandfather. He retired a year after Mari was born, allowing Richard to take his place as CEO of the company. Kori wanted to keep her family together as strongly as she could, so she maintained that Richard not spend all of his time at the office or fighting crime.

"There's actually nothing on the horizon as far as everyone else is concerned," Richard replied nonchalantly. "I'm just offering everyone else a break, and you a break, while I go out and patrol."

Whenever Rachel or Kori had become pregnant, they were automatically banned from crime fighting-no ifs, ands or buts. Although it absolutely aggravated the Tamaranian princess, she had no choice but to give in because Tamaranian powers are rendered useless during pregnancies.

Since Kori was pregnant, the others covered her and Richard's patrol times. Richard's because he didn't want to leave his pregnant wife alone when there was a possibility of her brother kidnapping her, like could have happened with Mari. A huge battle had ensued a week after Mari was born.

Despite what Kori had said the night before, he had remembered the threat her brother made all those years ago. How could he forget it? It was easy to blow it off when they initially received the threat because Kori wasn't supposed to get pregnant. After Mari they found out that it was safe enough and were less careful.

"So you're taking Mari?" Kori inquired, rinsing out her mug from the night before with soap and water.

As if she was waiting for her name to be called, Mari came running down the hall to their kitchen. "Daddy, daddy! Pick me up!"

Richard scooped up his little girl, "Hey Mari, how would you like to eat breakfast at Gramps' house with Luke and Michael?"

"But they're boys, daddy! And boys are gross!" Mari squeaked, hiding her face in his shoulder.

Richard looked at his daughter incredulously, then at his wife who grinned at him wickedly, then at Mari again. "But, Mari, I'm a boy!"

Mari lifted her chubby face to look her father directly in the eye, "But you're my daddy. And daddies are good."

Kori put a soapy hand over her mouth to keep from bursting out laughing. She caught a wink directed at her when Richard responded to Mari, "Oh okay, Mari. But, hey, I promise you that Gramps and Luke and Michael-and even Alfred-will be good today, just like me."

The girl seemed to consider this for a moment, shrugged, and said, "Ok, but only because I like Gramps and Alfred!"

Alfred was becoming more and more frail at this point, but his favorite pastime, when Mari visited, was reading her a fairytale. Sometimes, he told superhero stories as well. He was usually able to tell about three or four-five on a good day-and when he became too tired, Bruce would step in and tell his own stories to Mari, or teach her how to dance.

"Alright, princess, well let's get you dressed and then we'll head on over," Richard set his daughter to the floor and Kori grabbed her hand to pick out an outfit.

Arguments about wearing clothes backwards, wearing no clothes and wearing shoes on the wrong feet ensued within the next few minutes. Richard chuckled as he read the morning paper and sipped coffee out of his favorite red mug. Finally, the girls emerged. Kori appeared extremely disgruntled while Mari was adorning a bright smile, a pink t-shirt, a denim skirt, and her favorite sparkly shoes.

Realizing he hadn't responded to his wife's question from before, Richard said, "Yes, I will take Mari. Rachel and Gar should be over with the boys shortly. They'll spend the day with you."

"What about Victor and Karen?"

Richard shrugged, "They appreciated my offer of having a day off, but Vic ultimately decided that he has too much work to do. Karen wants to make sure he takes plenty of breaks, so she is there to take over every three hours."

Kori shook her head, "When are they finally just going to realize that they want to spend the rest of their lives together and get married?"

While her parents were talking, Mari had scampered into the family room to play with her dolls. Richard watched her for a moment, then replied, "I suppose they're afraid. Afterall, marriage hasn't exactly been a walk in the park."

Kori's mouth dropped, as if he had called her a horrible name. Richard held up a hand in defense, "Kori, don't get offended. I love being married to you. It's been the best adventure of my life. However, it's also been filled with many trials and challenges." He kissed her cheek and the doorbell rang.

Richard welcomed the Logans in, called Mari, and walked out the door with the three children. He asked them if they thought Bruce would give them icecream after lunch. There was evidence of ecstatic replies as Kori closed the door behind them.

She then turned around and embraced her friends in a hug. Rachel took this time to inspect her thoroughly. Over the years, the Graysons had adopted Rachel as their doctor, simply because she always found it to be her responsibility to check over Kori whenever they were together.

"Rachel, I'm fine," Kori insisted as Rachel stood there for five minutes touching her temple. Silently, she praised God that she made the decision not to have another child ever again. Labor was far too painful. She couldn't imagine being in Kori's position and having children.

"You can never be too sure, Kori," Rachel responded monotonously. "Just because you had a relatively safe labor process the first time around doesn't mean that can't change the second time around. Keep in mind that you received some serious damage through your brother's device. Besides," Rachel opened her eyes, "don't think I haven't noticed that you've been having the same nightmare every night since you got pregnant."

"Night terrors are normal during pregnancies," Kori reasoned stuffly, shifting her weight.

Garfield folded his arms over his chest defiantly, "Kori, although I understand that strange dreams are normal during pregnancies, trust me, I know," he glanced at his wife when he said this. "Having the same nightmare everynight is absolutely not normal, whether you're pregnant or not."

Kori nodded in understanding. "So, what would you guys like to do today?"

Before they could respond, Kori felt liquid running down her legs and experienced a lot of pain in her abdominal region. Her eyes widened, "Call Richard, now."

Meanwhile, the kids were all talking joyously as they rode to Bruce Wayne's small manor about two blocks away from the Grayson's. As Richard was driving, his thoughts became clouded with worries about Kori and their unborn child. He wanted to believe that his brother-in-law was dead at this point, but he could never be too certain. Hope was a nice thing to have, but it wouldn't help him if it caused him to be blind of the truth.

Richard looked down at his red-faced wife and baby girl. He smiled at the two beautiful women in his life and his chest swelled with pride.

When they had first discovered they were pregnant, Richard was crushed. Kori was beating herself up for it because she had forgotten to take her pill once. Richard was just frightened for the life of his wife and unborn child. It didn't help that as soon as they found out, a message from Tamaran was sent crashing through their bathroom window.

"Seriously, this guy has to come up with a better form of communication!" Richard shouted in frustration. The message was simple and to the point; Ryand'r was reminding them of his threat.

Looking down at their bundle of joy then it didn't seem like evil could ever penetrate their happiness again. They had a little princess, so no harm would come to them.

Or so he thought. It was peaceful for the next week as mother and daughter recovered. Then, all hell broke loose.

"Nightwing! Come in, Nightwing!" Cyborg's voice boomed through Richard's communicator.

Richard, who had been snoozing, jolted awake. "Christ, Cy! You could have woken up Mari!" Mari was actually in their room with Kori, being fed.

"There's no time." Cyborg argued. Even though Richard had decided they were safe, Cyborg wasn't easily convinced. He remained at the Titan's Tower, scanning the skies. "Perform Safety Maneuver X." Richard's eyes widened in horror and he rushed to their TV and into their secret lair.

In his Nightwing costume now, he typed multiple buttons on the keyboard that sat in front of a huge monitor. "Cy, can you give me a visual?" In no time, a huge image of Ryand'r and his army popped up on the screen, headed toward Earth. He had a wicked grin on his face. Nightwing growled. "Notify the others." He pressed one last button and an invisible forcefield surrounded itself around the Grayson household.

"Make sure you let Star know," Cyborg warned.

"I intend to." Without another word, Nightwing was back in his family room and running to his bedroom where his wife and child would be.

Kori looked up in surprise at her husband. She had been burping her little bumgorf when he burst into the room. "No," she whispered. "I'm going to fight with you."

Nightwing shook his head angrily, "Kori, no. You're too weak!"

Kori shook her head handing the child to her father and kissing her forehead. "He's my brother. I must. Everything will be ok my little bumgorf." She stared at her husband for a long time, almost as if they were talking to each other telepathically.

"Bruce and Alfred should be over with the Logan boys to take care of Mari in a moment. Beastboy, Raven, and Cyborg will meet us outside." Cyborg had found a way to let anyone who was considered a friend to the Titans, as well as the Titans themselves, pass through the forcefield. All they needed was a thumbprint when it was first created, and it would let them through automatically.

Kori nodded and scrambled to the lair. The door knocked and Nightwing answered it, Mari resting peacefully in the crook of his left arm. Bruce and Alfred stepped through the door with grim expressions. This was the first time they had seen Mari since she was born. Bruce gave Nightwing a stern look and Nightwing nodded, "I won't let him get past us... Bruce, she just ate, so she will probably need her diaper changed soon and then a nap." Bruce nodded. "Thank you guys for helping us out with this. I truly appreciate it."

Luke and Michael looked up at Nightwing wide-eyed. Although they had grown up in a superhero household, they had always been forced to stay with Bruce when their parents were crime fighting. Before Kori had gotten pregnant, one of the Logans stayed behind to watch them because Bruce didn't live in Jump City yet.

"Hey kids, be good for Mr. Wayne, ok?" Nightwing addressed them. They nodded, wide-eyed.

Kori appeared in her uniform then, looking much like the warrior princess that she was. "Let's take him down." The couple ran out the door together.

Ryand'r was standing outside the forcefield at this point, and growled when his sister emerged. "So, I see you set up a little protection device. No worries, I will find a way to destroy it soon enough." He spat.

Starfire's hands were lit with starbolts then and Nightwing took a combative stance next to her. "Leave, Ryand'r. You are not welcome here."

"But sister dear, how else am I supposed to continue living?"

"You aren't."

A red starbolt was thrown at her and Starfire flew backwards, being hit right in the stomach. Nightwing lunged at Ryand'r then, throwing kicks and punches everywhere. His efforts were met by red eyebeams and a sharp kick in the stomach. Nightwing fell back but didn't remain subdued for long.

Starfire was back on her feet at this point and throwing her own starbolts at her brother furiously. "My child is a female, Ryand'r! She wouldn't even be able to save you if she tried!"

Ryand'r was effortlessly dodging her starbolts and cried, "And how am I to know that you are not lying to me, hm?"

"Because I have always been truthful to you, Ryand'r." Starfire cried out, dodging his attack.

"Liar."

Behind him, the other Titans were taking on the Tamaranian army. Citizens of Jump City stood around watching instead of finding cover somewhere. The Titans were being beat, and badly. Finally, he subdued Nightwing and Starfire long enough that he was able to walk passed them and rip open the forceshield with his bare hands.

The rest of the Titans stared in amazement as he barged through what should have been the strongest forcefield known to man. Nightwing struggled to get up, to throw some sort of weapon at the red-haired alien. It was to no avail, though. He fell back to his knees.

Ryand'r stormed through the door and ripped the child from Bruce's arms before he could do anything. Then, wondering whether there was actually any truth in what his sister had said, Ryand'r checked the child's diaper. His army around him were blocking the Titans from entrance, and Alfred was doing his best to keep the Logan children from coming out of Mari's room while Bruce knocked Ryand'r in the face.

He dropped the child in shock and because of the force of impact. "So, it is a female."

Bruce caught his granddaughter, who was crying quite loudly now, and Ryand'r retreated with his army.

Nightwing didn't even bother with trying to stop them. He merely rushed over to the couch and laid his wife on it. She was barely breathing.

"Bruce, please take Mari in her room and soothe her." Nightwing begged, holding his wife's hand tightly. "Raven, can you do anything?"

Raven nodded, placing her hood over her head and got on her knees next to Starfire. She started the process of healing the princess whose body could not handle the stress of being tossed around in a fight. Her breathing soon became regular again but her eyes remained shut.

"She'll be unconscious for a few minutes," Raven announced, standing up straight again. "She'll be okay though. She just needs her rest."

Knowing what this meant, Beastboy spoke up, "So, how do you feel about being a single-parent for a few days, Dick?"

The masked hero glared at his friend, "Not now, BB." He kissed his wife's hand, "We'll be ok."

Bruce emerged from Mari's bedroom then, "Mari is fast asleep."

"Thank you, Bruce."

"Thank you, Bruce." Richard greeted the former Batman.

"No problem, Dick. I love having the kids around." Bruce beamed, taking his granddaughter from Richard's hands. Mari wrapped her tiny arms around his neck in a hug.

"I'll see you later on this evening." Before he could turn around to leave his phone rang. "Hello?"

"Dick, it's Rachel. Come back home now. Kori's going to have a premature birth."

A/N: I haven't studied at all yet for my test... Oops... Longer chapter, I know. Sorry! For some reason, it seems to me that Rachel and Gar would name their children biblical names. And Luke and Michael sounds nice. :P Also, as you probably have noticed, it turns out that I'm not done with the background stories afterall, like I said at the end of Chapter 3. My bad. Sorry guys!

God bless,
Rose